J.K. Rowling donates $15.4 million to multiple sclerosis research
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Author J.K. Rowling has donated $15.4 million to a multiple sclerosis research and treatment center at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
The creator of the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise says she hopes the clinic will become ‘a world center for excellence in the field of regenerative neurology.’
Rowling’s mother, Anne, died of complications related to MS at 45, before her daughter found literary fame. The currently incurable neurological disease can take many forms, ranging from relatively mild and manageable to progressive and debilitating. The center will also study Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.
‘I cannot think of anything more important, or of more lasting value, than to help the university attract world-class minds in the field on neuroregeneration, to build on its long and illustrious history of medical research and, ultimately, to seek a cure for a very Scottish disease,’ Rowling said in a statement Tuesday.
‘Very Scottish disease’ may refer to the fact that MS in more common in people from northern latitudes. The donation is the biggest charitable gift made by Rowling, who just turned 45 herself and is a longtime Edinburgh resident.
-- Christie D’Zurilla
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